Based on the Capcom video game, this is the third, live-action feature. There have been a half-dozen or so animated or Japanese anime films that have adapted the popular fighting arcade attraction. Film adaptations and even TV adaptations of video-game, intellectual properties or IP have had a successful resurgence over the past, five years, so it's not surprising that this feature got the greenlight. What's different here than the 1994 film adaptation is the tone and at times the style. This film is way more comedic and goofy, or certainly more so than Steven E. de Souza's 1994 version. Arguably, this current version, directed and co-written by Kitao Sakurai (Twisted Metal and The Eric Andre Show), is more faithful to the source material than the 1994 adaptation. Sakurai's version also isn't strictly live-action. In addiction to live-action, Sakurai incorporates anime sequences in this narrative to tell flashbacks.
While those anime sequences are incredible, contrasted with everything else, they only make the live-action feel inadequate. The anime depicts amazing fights and strong supernatural aspects. The live-action portions fall woefully short on both the fights and the supernatural aspects. I prefer live-action over anime, so I was frustrated with the imbalance. There have been a half-dozen or more, anime adaptations of this Capcom game, so doing anime in this one wasn't needed. It also ended up being distracting from the main relationship in the film.
Noah Centineo (The Recruit and Black Adam) stars as Ken Masters, a famous martial artist who is living in the early 90's. He's seemingly a champion who is known all around the world. He's featured on national television. He also has all kinds of endorsement or brand deals, being featured in tons of commercials and TV ads. He was in his heights in the 80's, but now Ken is a bit washed up. He's not as much of a champion as he used to be. Ken still has a high opinion of himself, but there are some who consider him to be a loser. If one has seen the recent Mortal Kombat II (2026), Ken is equivalent to Johnny Cage. Yet, Karl Urban who played Johnny Cage was given more space to be more of a fleshed out character. The anime sequences tell a lot of Ken's backstory, but it's real estate that's taken away from Centineo to embody the character on screen and build pathos.
Here, Centineo only has space to be two things. He's a beefcake and he's also the butt of jokes when it comes to fight scenes. Johnny Cage wasn't exactly a beefcake. He was the butt of jokes when it came to fighting, but that film again gives Urban space and time to play out the arc of building himself back up, going from a loser to a winner. Centineo isn't given that. The anime sequences take away his potential space and time. He is given some good fight scenes at the end, as well as some almost, Jackie Chan-inspired stuff in the beginning that play up the comedy. He is for sure a stunning beefcake. Centineo was always handsome, but tall and skinny. Reportedly, he started bulking up for Masters of the Universe (2026), but when he dropped out, he clearly kept up his exercise regimen and got supremely jacked and muscular for this.
Andrew Koji (Warrior and Snake Eyes) co-stars as Ryu, the adopted brother of Ken. Ryu is estranged from Ken. The reason why gets explained in the anime sequences, which not only take away from Centineo but also from Koji. At least, the film gives Ryu better fight scenes, allowing Koji to demonstrate his incredible, martial arts skills. Koji isn't as buff a beefcake as Centineo here, but he is still in amazing shape. He's also an actual martial artist, which Centineo isn't. Koji gets to show off both his physique and his fighting skills in several scenes, but my favorite is a tussle in a sauna or steam bath where he and his opponent, E. Honda, played by real-life Japanese wrestler, Hirooki Goto, are only in towels. Honda eventually goes fully nude and requires some clever choreography to keep the PG-13 rating here.
The film introduces a bunch of other fighters. Unfortunately, the feature does them no justice. They're mainly superficial portrayals. De Souza's 1994 film also had superficial portrayals of its ensemble. Yet, de Souza's film felt more like an ensemble and the characters felt more integrated into the plot or had more to do. The ensemble or supporting cast here feel extremely tacked on or they're simply here for fan service, rather than true narrative reasons. Most, if not all of them are rather forgettable. Even characters portrayed by celebrities, including Jason Momoa (A Minecraft Movie and Aquaman) and Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson (The Expendables 4 and Power), blow past us in such ways that are completely unremarkable. Momoa and Jackson's characters quickly left my mind the instant they left the screen. Some might take note of Guile, played by Cody Rhodes (WWE Smackdown!), but only due to his hairstyle, which is true to the video game. Jean-Claude Van Damme played Guile in the 1994 film, and he was the lead. Here, Guile is absolutely disposable.
The only exception is Dhalsim, played by Vidyut Jammwal, a Bollywood martial artist and voted "Sexiest Man Alive" by People Magazine India. Dhalsim is a memorable and distinct presence here. His style both visually and physically are remarkable. The only critical part is that he's not given more to do, beyond a group bar fight.
Rated PG-13 for violence, action, language, sexual references, partial nudity and smoking.
Running Time: 1 hr. and 59 mins.
In theaters.
